UCF’s defense has spent the first two weeks looking every bit like one of the better units in the country.
Alex Grinch’s group has given up just 18 points across the first two games, allowing Bethune-Cookman and Pittsburgh to find the end zone only once apiece. The Knights still came up short in Saturday’s 12-7 loss to Pittsburgh, but the defensive performance gave Grinch plenty to build on.
That showing has already been recognized nationally. On Monday, Pro Football Network’s Cam Mellor ranked the highest-graded FBS defenses through the first two weeks, and UCF landed at No. 14 with an 84.9 grade.
The biggest reason for that placement has been the run defense. UCF has held opponents to 2.55 yards per carry through two games, and Bethune-Cookman managed just 107 rushing yards on 40 attempts in Week 1, a 2.7-yard average. The Knights piled up nine tackles for loss in that opener.
Junior EDGE Sincere Edwards was a major part of that effort. He finished with six QB pressures and five total tackles, and his six pressures were tied for the third-most among FBS edge rushers.
Tackett Curtis has also made his presence felt in a big way. The senior linebacker, listed as a co-starter in UCF’s linebacker room, lived in the Wildcats’ backfield with a sack, another tackle for loss and three solo tackles.
Curtis worked with Grinch during his freshman season at USC and has carried that connection into his time at UCF. He stayed active again in Week 2, finishing with nine tackles against Pittsburgh.
Alongside him, Lewis Carter continues to anchor the middle. Carter led all players with 10 tackles and remains the defensive leader of the group. Frost spent the offseason praising Carter and said after the Knights’ Week 1 win that he would be one of the “most productive” players in the Big 12 “and beyond.”
That production matters even more with the uncertainty around Cole Kozlowski and his pending eligibility battle. If Kozlowski is able to return, UCF’s linebacker room would get even deeper, and Grinch would have another high-level tackler to deploy in the middle.
The secondary did its job too against Pittsburgh, keeping sophomore quarterback Mason Heintschel under control after Heintschel had shredded Miami (OH) for 450 passing yards and seven touchdowns in Week 1.
If UCF can get the offense rolling and start matching that defensive work, the Knights have a chance to become a real Big 12 threat.
In Other News...
UCF Faces Another QB Problem At The Worst Possible Time
Alonza Barnett IIIs latest setback comes at a frustrating time for UCF, which has already spent enough energy trying to settle its offense. The quarterback went down late in the loss at Pittsburgh and now the Knights are bracing for another stretch without their starter, with coach Scott Frost offering an update but stopping short of spelling out the full extent of the injury.
What happens next leaves UCF leaning on the rest of its quarterback room, with backup options suddenly moving into a far bigger role. The unanswered part is the timeline, and in a season where continuity at quarterback matters so much, the Knights will have to sort out their offense while waiting to learn when Barnett might be able to come back. [Read more 🡒]
UCF Heads Into Georgia State With One Offense Problem To Fix Fast
UCFs trip through Pittsburgh left a familiar concern hanging over the offense, and it showed up in a place the Knights cannot afford to ignore for long. The run game never got going, the ground attack stayed bottled up, and Scott Frost had already acknowledged earlier in the game that the team needed to do a better job establishing it.
The timing matters because Georgia State is next, and its defense has been vulnerable against the run, allowing an average of 77 rushing yards per game. For UCF, this is the kind of matchup that can either help reset an offense or keep the same issue front and center, which makes the Knights ability to find consistency on the ground one of the more important details heading into the week. [Read more 🡒]
UCFs Biggest Problem After Pitt Looks Way Too Familiar
The disappointment from UCFs 12-7 loss to Pitt had a familiar feel, because the Knights spent much of the night undoing their own work. Penalties kept putting the offense behind schedule, and a limited running game made it harder to recover when drives stalled. Players and coaches were left pointing to the same broad issue after the game: too many self-inflicted mistakes in a contest that never got away from them, but never quite tilted their way either.
Waden Charles summed up the frustration by saying Pitt did not really do anything to stop UCF and that the Knights stopped themselves, a blunt assessment after a game decided by details. The next step is straightforward enough, at least on paper, with film review and a reset before Georgia State, but the challenge is obvious - clean up the discipline issues and turn those missed chances into points before the same story repeats itself. [Read more 🡒]